Rutger Bruining
Founder and CEO
Rutger graduated with a degree in Business Economics from the University of Amsterdam and in 2004 started working as a strategy consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. Three years later he moved to New York for an MBA at Columbia University, after which he became Investment Director at Arle Capital (formerly Candover) in London. In 2013 he quit his job in private equity to focus on his love for history and stories: he founded Story Terrace. Rutger likes sports and travelling; on the top of his wish list are Australia and Uganda.
Ari Davine
North America Sales Manager
Ari began his career at United Talent Agency, where he spent 4 years in the Television Literary division. There, he interacted extensively with television writers and with studios and networks on behalf of the writers represented by the agency. He would then work in development for two television production companies, one of which was Ryan Seacrest Productions. He would again work very closely with television writers, only this time on the project development side. Outside of work, Ari enjoys spending time with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby girl, Maggie.
Jordan McCray
North America Sales Associate
Jordan is a Texas transplant, by way of Wisconsin, Oregon, and New York. She received her BA in Sociology and Women & Gender Studies from Rice University, before ultimately landing in Los Angeles, where she began her career at Creative Artists Agency. There, Jordan worked with talented screenwriters in the Television Literary division before her promotion and transition into the Books and Publishing division, where she had the opportunity to advocate for authors and journalists. In her spare time, Jordan enjoys pottery, running, and taking road trips.
Nick Belcher
North America Sales Associate
Nick started his career in music, as both an artist and the head of artist development for the independent label Known Strangers. Whether it was writing, performing, developing his own projects, or teaching other artists to do the same, music has always been apart of his life. Nick has performed on the TV show American Juniors, as a Radio Disney Pop Star, was part of the second graduating class of USC’s Popular Music Program, organized a music festival, performed at the Whiskey A Go Go, and is currently part of the first cohort of USC’s new Contemporary Teaching Practices Masters Program. Outside of work, Nick enjoys listening, writing, and singing ’70s and ’80s rock, spending time with his friends, family, and girlfriend.
Amanda Wilson
North America Managing Editor
Amanda relocated to Los Angeles after working and living in Chicago and London. She earned an MA in Publishing from Kingston University in England and a BA in English, with a focus in Creative Writing, from the University of Montana. Within publishing, Amanda has worked at various agencies and publishing houses to help craft a wide range of titles, including children’s books, cookbooks, textbooks, fiction, and non-fiction. When she’s not working, Amanda enjoys exploring museums and gardens, traveling abroad, and baking.
Natalie Rosie
North America Senior Project Editor
Natalie grew up in the desert but moved to New York City as soon as she was able. She spent most of her twenties producing films and commercials and using her savings to travel the world. She ended up in Guatemala, where she began writing about the foods, people, and cultures she encountered on her travels. She returned to the States in 2014 to pursue writing. Natalie studied storytelling at the Salt Institute in Portland, Maine, and holds an MFA in creative writing from Northern Arizona University. She lives with her husband and daughter, and is an aspiring Spanish-speaker and salsa maker.
Sam Brockschmidt
North America Project Editor
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Sam was drawn to storytelling by her love for books and film. She earned a summer screenwriting scholarship at USC and mentorship with Disney, Hallmark, and Sony Pictures, later obtaining her B.A. in Communications and Marketing from CSUN. For years, Sam devoted herself to the nonprofit sector (mental health and childhood cancer research), while ferociously writing novels and screenplays. As a fantasy novelist and animated screenwriter, she loves etymology and twisted folklore. When not fleshing out worlds of magical realism, Sam unwinds with reading, meditation, yoga, and hockey.
Elizabeth DiPietro
North America Project Editor
Born and raised in South Jersey, Elizabeth relocated to Los Angeles to follow a love of storytelling. She earned her B.A. in Public Relations and her M.A. in Writing from Rowan University. She has previously worked as a Project Editor, a Staff Writer, and an Associate Editor at different publishers and publications. When not working, Elizabeth trains Muay Thai, works on her own writing, watches movies, and spends quality time with her fourteen-year-old dog Toby.
Shafiur Rahman
VP Sales and Operations
Right-hand man to many founders and CEO’s, Shafiur Rahman specializes in growing startups. From SaaS, aviation, and aerospace to Story Terrace, Shafiur proactively juggles tech development, product roadmaps, HR and financial aspects for new businesses. His favorite part? Being hands-on in a fast-paced environment to help companies grow exponentially! He also loves spending time with his family, shooting range target practice, classic cars (the newer model Dodge Hellcat being one of his favorites), and traveling with his wife and kids.
Giles Schippers
CMO
Marketing Expert & Creative Director with 10 years agency and client-side background plus 5 years startup and UX/product experience. I have an eye for design and connect strategic dots – build great teams, develop and launch products and brands. The first half of my career was creative and included writing for a national newspaper, radio producer, photographer and agency art director at BBDO. As I was curious about the bigger picture and strategy I did an MBA and moved into marketing roles for e.g. Getty Images and at Rem Koolhaas’ OMA. Being entrepreneurial I started developing digital products for clients and co-founded ecommerce startup SonicEditions.com.
Theo Brainin
Marketing Director
Theo’s primary responsibilities at Story Terrace include beard topiary and coffee bean adjudication. On the side, he lends a strategic and articulate perspective to Story Terrace’s product development, product marketing and design, contributing a journalistic nous gained working with broadcasters including BBC Newsnight, as well as print publications. Theo holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and a Masters degree in Political Theory, both from Oxford University; as well as a Graduate Diploma in Law.
Coen Borgman
NL Managing Editor
Coen Borgman studied Dutch Language & Culture in Amsterdam, did an internship in Pune, India and has worked TenPages.com, Boekblad, and WPG Uitgevers. He also founded a publishing house in 2013, which he transferred to Gibbon and was a publisher at Fosfor. At Story Terrace he directs the Dutch-speaking writers from London and supervises the editing and production of our books.
Rogier de Bree
NL Sales & Customer Relations Manager
With a lifelong passion for telling stories, Rogier heads up our Dutch sales team from Amsterdam
Louise Summerling
UK Managing Editor
After graduating in 2010 with a degree in English Literature from the University of East Anglia, Louise spent a couple of years in New Zealand – where she lived in a van in someone’s garden – and Australia, returning home in 2013 via Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and southern China. This was followed by a stint working at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic, which is where her love of people and their stories was born. She then spent a year getting lost among the dreaming spires while working at Oxford University Press, before arriving in London to develop her skills as an editor at Macmillan. She joined Story Terrace in 2017, where she works closely with customers and writers to bring people’s stories to life.
Beth Williams
UK Project Editor
Beth graduated with a degree in English and American Literature from the University of Sussex, and studied abroad at the University of Washington, Seattle. After graduating she moved to Berlin where she worked as an Editorial Intern at various arts and culture magazines in the city. A year later she returned to London to work at Bloomsbury as a Production Assistant before being promoted to Production Editor, where she managed a busy list of academic titles. She joined Story Terrace in 2018 and loves to help customers turn their life stories into beautiful books.
Moseley Labor
UK Sales Manager
With 8 years of sales experience across media, retail and healthcare industries Moseley has a passion for providing a high level of service and building lasting relationships with clients. Moseley also has a passion for sports – he’s currently undertaking a Master’s in sports law. Other interests include travelling, technology and cooking.